This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at TEDx.com
Technology Transfer – the process of moving inventions into commercial products – is the critical driver of the knowledge economy of the 21st Century. And we are very bad at it. By any measure, tech transfer is operating at low efficiency in every step of the chain: university commercialization, seed stage technology investment and early stage startup growth each feature extremely low success rates – depriving our economy of much needed growth potential. This talk will review some of the underlying challenges of technology transfer and offer an alternative model with a proven track record of building growth companies around deep technology concepts.
Helge is an award-winning technologist, entrepreneur, and recognized global authority on technology transfer and display technologies. As General Partner of TandemLaunch, he works with inventors and entrepreneurs to build high growth technology companies. His past successes include the transformation of raw university IP into fully commercialized LED TV technology, including selling his last company – Brightside Technologies – to Dolby Laboratories after sealing partnerships with several of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. Helge holds over 60 patents in the fields of display, camera and video technology.
Bob Lucky is an engineer known worldwide for his writing and speaking about technology and society. He has led premier research laboratories in telecommunications over the last several decades, first at Bell Labs and then at Telcordia Technologies, where he was corporate vice president, applied research. After retiring from that position he has remained active in professional activities, including advisory boards, studies, and consulting.
He has been active throughout his career in professional, academic, and government roles. He received his doctorate in electrical engineering from Purdue University, has since been honored with four honorary doctorates, and has received a number of major awards, including the prestigious Marconi Prize and the IEEE Edison Medal. He has been elected a fellow of the IEEE and to membership in the National Academy of Engineering, and to both the American and European Academies of Arts and Sciences.
